From the Liza yahoo fan list.. I am sure it is ok with this poster for me to put this up.
Hi all
I dont post that often. When i do i am sometimes sent responses off list from individuals either thanking me for my honesty for deriding me for not saying everything Liza does is wonderful.
so here goes my review of Friday December 5ths Show which I had tickets to. Sitting in the third row center of the orchestra i believe i was able to really see and hear liza as she really is.
First off let me state the sound system, sets, costumes, choreography and the act itself are all really first rate. Its the kind of show that really takes a strong personality that is also a powerhouse performer in total control of her powers.
Liza...in a word...was MAGNIFICENT. I cannot remember the last time I have felt that chill up and down my body sitting in the audience watching Liza. She came out strong. It was obvious she was in much better shape than when she was at Coney Island or the Tilles Center. Not only physically but vocally. Her first song...Teach Me Tonight was a good opening number and she moved well and sang strongly. Much more so than on any song shes opened with in the last few years including the special opening for Lizas back. then she literally sailed into song after song and at times, although she did seem breathless, she did not seem ill. What Makes a Man a Man, My Own Best Friend, If were all very well done dramatically and vocally. When she went into the Palace Medley it really was an historic moment. or i should say an historic several moments. the entire number was just sensational and when liza reached for the high notes in Some of these Days they were all there. It was at the same time, an eerie reminder of Judy at the Palace and a reminder that Liza anywhere doing this well...is the ONLY performer of her time who can really transport you into her world. the banter, the stories, the fun, the interaction with the audience was just wonderful and as strong as the voice started out somehow she was, as usual, gaining momentum. Not since before LIzas Back have I seen and heard Liza this good.
i have seen Liza do the Kay Thompson routine a couple of times. It never knocked my socks off although she certainly always worked hard and obviously enjoyed doing it. now the Kay Thompson segment is actually as good as the rest of the act. She is costumed and choreographed beautifully and she is moving with ease and grace. the legs are long and strong. yes she runs of out breath here and there, but the voice remains strong and the humor and showmanship more than make up for a few rough edges when the breathlessness kind of takes the wind out of her sails. theres also unabashed sentiment in the stories and the entire routine but in Lizas magnificent hands and voice and feet it never sinks into audience manipulation and by the end of the segment it leaves me thinking...if Kay Thompson were half this good why oh why did Hollywood never use her in more films or at least film what she had done! Oh and as an afterthought Liza began the second act with a version of But the World Goes Round that was just about the strongest and steadiest I have ever heard her do.
After I Love a Violin which had two encores she settiled into or should i say dove into My Mammy and New York New York with zest, energy, verve, fun and above all a strong soaring voice. In Mammy she stopped at the end and told the band she started the end in a key even she couldn't cover so lets go back and start from here...and then hit it out of the stadium so far i was sure thered be nothing left for New York. Slap me please for not having faith. Because NY, NY came out rich and strong and if a couple of notes were a little rough around the edges it didn't show because even above the music and shattering applause that strong controlled vibrato was clearly heard. She wished us all Have Yourself a Merry LIttle Christmas which brought tears to everyone's eyes including her own.
Other highlights included knock out versions of Hes Funny that Way, Cabaret(this was another one hit out of the park, across the street. over the fifty night street bridge and landed somewhere in Long Island i am sure.) and i know i am leaving out a few of the numbers which were no less enthralling. I also want to say that Billy Stritch, whom i dont always enjoy, is to be commended. He looked good, he sang well, and its obvious...he adores Liza not just as a performer but as a person. And last but NEVER least the four guys with Liza are all very talented and energetic. I have seen Johnny Rogers a few times now and this guy really is talented and as one person behind me said..."hes adorable. that smile lights up his face and everyones around him!" and the guy can also sing. of the four he is clearly the best but this does not mean the other three arent also very very good.
and the audience. Liza needs an enthusiastic audience which we were. at the beginning i think we were a little too enthusiastic because we were standing for everything and not even waiting for the end of the songs! but as the night went on it was clear...we could not cheer loud enough, we could not applaud strongly enough, to adequately let this woman know just how great she was. I saw Joe Luft in the first row. she sang to him at several points and he seems like a very quiet nice person. I also saw Scott Schecter in the front row and i like to watch his reaction to Liza because sometimes i think I am just overreacting because Ive seen Liza more times than i can count since 1977 and maybe i just get too carried away. But Scott was as taken as the rest of us were. So I know it wasn't just an over enthusiastic audience. It was Liza. She got to every single member of that audience.
More than anything i think what i really enjoyed most was not only was Liza moving well, looking good, singing great and obviously having a hell of a time. But Liza is HEALTHY and STRONG. She has become more than a great entertainer or even a national treasure. She has become someone who sends us all a message that no matter what you can come back from anything stronger than ever. Brava Liza. The Palace has royalty. She is the Queen of Broadway and long may she wear this crown which she so richly deserves. If you have a chance to see her at any price...its a bargain. Theres Streisand, Manilow, Tina Turner, Midler, Neil Diamond, Cher...and then there is Liza. Ive seen them all and im happy to say Liza is still the best.
oops..sorry i went on so long. i should have just said...the reviews did not exaggerate. Liza was good.
thank you for your attention.
Happy Holidays everyone
Fred
HUSSY POWER!
------ HUSSY POWER!
